LSAT — Exam Survival Playbook

US & International | Sections: Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games), Reading Comprehension

Must-do topics

Arguments (Logical Reasoning)
• Identify conclusion vs premises cleanly
• Common question types: strengthen, weaken, assumption, flaw, inference, role of statement
• Classic flaw families: correlation vs causation, necessary vs sufficient, sampling, analogy, comparison

Logic Games (Analytical Reasoning)
• Basic game types: ordering, grouping, hybrid (order + group), matching
• Rule translation: turning prose into simple symbols and base diagrams
• Making inferences before questions (blocks, not-laws, “at least/at most” interactions)

Reading Comprehension
• Big picture: main point, author’s attitude, primary purpose
• Passage structure: contrasting viewpoints, theories, experiments, critiques
• Detail questions: line-referenced evidence, “according to the passage” vs “most supported”

General skills
• Conditional logic: if/then, only if, unless, contrapositive vs converse
• Diagramming arguments quickly and neatly
• Spotting trap wording: “some / many / most / all”, “likely / must / could”

Top traps (avoid)

Treating LR as “common sense” and skipping systematic practice

Reading logic games rules once and jumping straight to questions without a clean diagram

Getting emotionally attached to a passage or game you find interesting and spending way too long on it

Answering with “true in real life” instead of “follows from this passage / argument”

Ignoring modal verbs: “could,” “must,” “best supported,” “most strongly suggests”

Letting one brutal game or passage ruin the pacing for the whole section

Time split (classic pattern)

Adjust for the current format, but as a working model:

Logical Reasoning (each section ~35 min)
• Q1–10 → ~12 minutes
• Q11–20 → ~13 minutes
• Q21+ → ~10 minutes (hardest; flag and move)

Logic Games (~35 min)
• 4 games → ~8–9 minutes per game
• Rule of thumb: if a game is still chaos after 4–5 minutes, move to the next; come back later

Reading Comprehension (~35 min)
• 4 passages → ~8–9 minutes per passage
• Aim: 3–4 minutes reading & marking, 4–5 minutes answering

Last-48h checklist

Do one full timed LR section each day; review every missed question:
• Identify the flaw or logic pattern in plain language

Do 2 timed games per day:
• For each game, redraw a clean diagram and see what inferences you missed first time

Do 2 passages per day: one dense science / law, one humanities / social science

Skim your own notes on:
• Common LR question types + go-to approach
• Standard game setups and default diagram templates

Pack logistics: admission ticket, ID, allowed pencils, snack, earplugs (if permitted), route to test centre

Quick frames (no formulas, only habits)

LR:
• Always ask: “What is the conclusion? On what is it based?”
• For strengthen/weaken: target the assumption, not random facts

Games:
• Rules → Base diagram → Free inferences → Then questions
• Think in worlds: if rule forces big splits, sketch a couple of “worlds” and park them

RC:
• Passage first, then questions — but read for structure, not detail
• Track: main point, author’s attitude, and each paragraph’s job

Speed tactics

LR:
• Read the question stem before the stimulus for some types (flaw, assumption, strengthen/weaken)
• Kill 3 answers quickly: off-topic, too extreme, repeats the premise, opposite direction

Games:
• If you’re stuck, look for “must be true” or “cannot be true” questions early — they often reveal hidden inferences
• Use answer choices to test uncertain deductions rather than doing heavy algebra on paper

RC:
• Underline or lightly mark: thesis sentence, contrast words (however, but, yet, although), and named theories/studies
• For detail questions, go back to the lines — don’t answer from memory

Day-of mini-plan

20-minute warm-up at home:
• 2 LR questions (medium), 1 short game setup, 1 RC paragraph skim

At the centre:
• Once seated, forget score targets; focus only on the section in front of you

During the test:
• If you feel panic rising, pause for one deep breath between questions; reset attention
• Don’t leave anything blank; if time is dying, bubble something and move